The Russian Academy of Sciences' (RAS) research ship Akademik Boris Petrov departed the Port of Murmansk earlier this month for a research expedition covering the Barents Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean.
The expedition is being carried out to test a new range of marine geophysical equipment developed by the RAS' Shirshov Institute of Oceanology and to conduct additional research on marine geology and geodynamics.
The vessel will be in the Barents Sea for the first phase of the expedition, which will involve testing of geophysical equipment for the purpose of addressing issues often encountered during offshore exploration for oil and gas.
For the second phase, the vessel will relocate to the North Atlantic to enable an embarked team to study the rift valley of the so-called Mid-Atlantic Ridge near Portugal's Azores islands.
The expedition is the 63rd overall to be conducted by Akademik Boris Petrov, which has been in service since 1984.
